The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Squares Off Against Marshall On Saturday Night
2/12/2010 12:00:00β―AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 12, 2010
UAB-Marshall Game Notes | Gametracker | Watch
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball team will return to the hardwood after a week between games when it takes on Marshall on Saturday night at Bartow Arena. The contest is set for a 7 p.m. tip and can be heard live on the Blazers ISP Radio Network, 107.7 FM WUHT.
The UAB men's basketball team enters Saturday's contest against Marshall sporting an overall record of 19-4 on the season. The Blazers improved to 7-2 in Conference USA play when they defeated Rice, 76-65, last Saturday in Houston, Texas. Junior guard Aaron Johnson led all scorers with a career-high 28 points, while junior guard Jamarr Sanders collected 18 points - all of which came in the second half.
The Blazers continue to be led by junior guard Elijah Millsap, who leads the team in scoring (16.1 ppg), rebounding (9.3 rpg), steals (1.9 spg) and free throws made (112) and attempted (155). He also leads C-USA in double-doubles (11) and in rebounding and is fifth in scoring. The Louisiana-Lafayette transfer has led the Blazers in scoring and/or rebounding in 18 of their 23 games this season.
Senior forward Howard Crawford is second on the team with 12.0 points per contest, while Sanders adds 11.3 ppg and leads the team in three-pointers made (49) and attempted (129). Johnson is the fourth UAB player to average double figures with 10.2 points and leads the team in assists (4.5).
As a team, the Blazers are shooting 42.6 percent from the floor and 31.5 percent from beyond the arc this year. UAB also boasts a +5.6 advantage on the boards (36.7-31.1). Furthermore, the Blazers hold the opposition to 61.2 points a game, which is second in C-USA and ranks 32nd nationally (as of 2/7), and have held 17 of their 23 opponents to 65 points or below.
Head coach Mike Davis is in his fourth season at the helm of the UAB basketball program and his 10th season as a head coach. He boasts a record of 79-43 (.648) at UAB and a 194-122 (.614) mark overall. He now owns a record of 35-20 (.636) in Conference USA play.
Marshall, one of the top offensive teams in not only Conference USA but in the country, comes into Saturday's contest sporting a 17-7 overall record and a 5-4 mark in league play. The Thundering Herd is coming off a 115-73 victory over NAIA member Rio Grande on Tuesday night. It marked the second-straight contest the Herd has reached triple digits, as it also steamrolled East Carolina, 100-49, on Jan. 30. Both contests were played in Huntington, W.Va.
Marshall enters the contest leading Conferenece USA in scoring offense (80.9 points per game), scoring margin (+14.0), field goal percentage (.486) and three-point field goal percentage (.389). Additionally, Marshall leads the league in rebounding offense (39.3 rpg), blocked shots (8.0 bpg), assists (17.3 apg) and assist/turnover ratio (1.4).
Leading the offensive attack is senior forward Tyler Wilkerson, who missed the team's last contest with a sore ankle. Wilkerson leads the Thundering Herd in scoring (13.2 ppg) and ranks second in rebounding (6.7 rpg) and blocked shots (27).
Freshman phenom Hassan Whiteside has been equally as impresive, leading the nation with an incredible 127 blocked shots (5.3 blocks per game). He also has recorded two triple-doubles and is second in the league behind UAB's Elijah Millsap with 10 double-doubles this year. Whiteside also leads the team in rebounding (8.8 rpg) and field goal percentage (.552) and is second in scoring (13.1 ppg).
Sophomore guards Shaquille Johnson (10.8 ppg) and Damier Pitts (10.2 ppg) also average double-digit scoring, while Pitts averages a team-best 4.6 assists per game.
Head coach Donnie Jones is in his third season at the helm of the Marshall men's basketball program. He own a record of 48-38 (.558) overall.
Quotables
UAB Senior Center Kenneth Cooper
On what the off day means right now:
"The week off gave us a chance to correct things we had trouble with last game. We worked on correcting things with our offense as well as our defensive intensity. It's a good time to do a lot of catching up in school academics because we have been travelling so much."
On the rematch vs. Marshall:
"We are going to take a good look at the scouting report and be prepared for the game Saturday against Marshall. It's a big game, but we have to it take one game at a time."
UAB Junior Guard Aaron Johnson
On having a week off:
"Me, Elijah (Millsap), Kenneth (Cooper) and George (Drake) had a lot of bumps and bruises during the week off, plus our bodies were a little sore and worn out. It was a great week to be off because it gave us a chance to go back in the gym and work on some things we lost focus on. We got a lot of rest, but every practice we ran hard. The more rest you get the better your body feels."
On Marshall's confidence coming into Saturday's game:
"We already know Marshall thinks they are going to come in here and get a win because of we got a win on their home court (Jan. 23). We are just going to come out and play hard. The rest we had is a big key in such a vital game against Marshall."
UAB Head Coach Mike Davis
On having a week off:
"I think that we needed a week off, the guys are banged up a but. Aaron (Johnson), (Kenneth) Cooper and Elijah (Millsap) are all guys with injuries and we were able to get them some treatment and rest. It's definitely a good time of the year to have a week off. We all needed to get focused on the stretch run. We'll be able to tell Saturday if it was a good thing or not."
On facing Marshall at home:
"We just want to focus on getting better. It's a home game for us. We lost our last home game, so right now we just have to take care of our home court. Everyone who comes in here will try and get a win. This is a tough conference and Marshall is a very good basketball team with a lot of talent. It's going to be a tough challenge for us."
On what team has been working on during the week:
"We've been working on our execution and trying to get better defensively. We have to do a lot of little things better and we have looked good in practice this week. We had an off day on Wednesday and (Thursday) we expect to get back in here and work hard and just continue to get better."
UAB vs. Marshall: The Series
UAB and Marshall will meet for the 13th time in series history, with the Blazers owning a 8-4 advantage in the previous 12 games played between the two teams, including a 61-59 win in Huntington back on Jan. 23. Last season, UAB swept the Thundering Herd, capturing a 75-73 overtime win in Huntington on Jan. 31, 2009 and a 70-52 victory in Birmingham on March 7, 2009. The Blazers have now won four-straight games in the series. Additionally, UAB head coach Mike Davis in 5-3 overall when playing the Thundering Herd, including a 4-1 mark at Bartow Arena. The Blazers own a 10-1 record in home games so far on the season.
UAB-Marshall Earlier This Season
Aaron Johnson dropped in a layup with just under six seconds remaining, lifting UAB to a 61-59 win over Marshall on Jan. 23. Johnson finished the contest with 11 points, including hitting 7-of-9 free throws.
Relying on free throws down the stretch due to a 7-minute span without a field goal, the Blazers lost the lead they'd held most of the game when Tyler Wilkerson pulled Marshall even at 59 on a layup with 1:41 left.
Both teams missed jumpers before UAB took a timeout to set up the final shot with 15 seconds left. After the timeout, the Blazers got the ball to Johnson and he got UAB the win.
Johnson also hit five free throws in the final 5 minutes for the Blazers.
Howard Crawford led the Blazers with 19 points and junior Jamarr Sanders collected 10 points and nine rebounds in the effort.
Wilkerson paced the Thundering Herd with 18 points and Damier Pitts added 13.
Last Time Out
Aaron Johnson scored a career-high 28 points and UAB pulled away in the second half for a 76-65 victory over Rice last Saturday.
The Blazers trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half, and were down 31-26 at halftime. But UAB put together a 16-0 run that stretched from the end of the first half to the beginning of the second half to take the lead for good. Another 9-0 run put UAB up 47-37 with 13:01 left.
Johnson was 7 of 10 from the field and 11 of 13 from the free-throw line for UAB. He also had five assists and three steals. Jamarr Sanders added 18 points - all in the second half - and Elijah Millsap 13 for the Blazers.
UAB had a big advantage at the free throw line, hitting 28 of 34 shots compared to just 10 of 18 for Rice. The Blazers finished the contest shooting 40.8 percent from the floor (20-of-49) and 50.0 percent from three-point range (8-of-16).
Breaking Down The Previous Game
Below are some notes in regards to the previous game:
• Aaron Johnson's 28 points in the win were the most points scored by any Blazer this season.
• UAB shot a season-best 50.0-percent from beyond the arc against Rice (8-of-16).
• Jamarr Sanders scored 18 points - all of which came over the final 20 minutes of the contest.
• The Blazers were outrebounded by nine boards against the Owls, which was the most UAB has been outrebounded in any contest this year.
• UAB trailed by as many as 12 points to Rice before coming back to take the win. It is the fourth time this season - and third time in league play - that the Blazers had to comeback from a double-digit deficit to pull out a win.
Little General
Junior point guard Aaron Johnson had his best offensive game in a UAB uniform when the Blazers defeated Rice, 76-65, last Saturday. Not only did Johnson establish a new career best with 28 points in the victory, but he also established new personal bests in field goals made (7), three-point field goals made (3), free throws made (11), free throws attempted (13) and minutes played (40).
In fact, Johnson's overall offensive productivity has improved tremendously so far this season. Last year, the Chicago, Ill. native averaged just 3.6 points a contest and only had one double-figure scoring game. Through 23 games this year, Johnson is averaging 10.2 ppg. Furthermore, with 10 double-digit outings this season, Johnson has smashed his career total of double-digit scoring games entering the season of five (2007-09).
Approaching 20-Win Plateau
At 19-4 on the year, the Blazers are just one win shy of reaching the 20-win plateau for the year. UAB has recorded 19 20-win seasons in the 31 years that the men's basketball program has been in existence. Additionally, coming into the year the Blazers had recorded two straight 20-win seasons and reached the milestone in six of the past seven seasons. Even more impressive is the fact that if UAB reaches 20 wins in the regular season, it will mark only the second time in school history that a UAB team will have reached 20 wins in three consecutive years during regular-season play. The feat was also accomplished during the 1983-86 seasons.
A Rare Feat?
For just the fifth time this season, UAB lost the rebounding battle when it was outrebounded by Rice, 36-27, in last Saturday's 76-65 Blazer victory. Furthermore, the nine-rebound disadvantage marked a season-high in terms of the Blazers being outrebounded by their opponent in a contest. However, that may not be such a bad thing. UAB has won all five contests this season when losing the battle of the boards.
Feeling More Comfortable On The Road
Prior to last week's two road games, junior guard Jamarr Sanders was having a tough time away from Bartow Arena. In his previous 10 road contests (away and neutral site games), Sanders averaged just 7.6 points and 4.8 rebounds a game, while shooting 34.2 percent from the floor and 30.0 percent from beyond the arc. However, in UAB's last two road contests at Memphis (2/3) and at Rice (2/6), the Montgomery, Ala. native is averaging 17.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists a game, while shooting 47.8 percent from the floor and 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from three-point range.
Sanders has been consistently steady at the friendly confines of Bartow Arena this season. In the Blazers' 11 home games, Sanders' averages improve to 13.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest, while he shoots 43.5 percent from the floor and 39.2 percent from three-point range.
Ruling The Boards
One of the strengths of this year's UAB team has been on the boards. UAB's board work this season has been a big reason why it has won 19 of its 23 games. The Blazers have only been out-rebounded in five of 23 games on the year. UAB boasts a 5.6 average advantage on the boards during the campaign (36.7-31.1).
Entering Saturday's contest, UAB is tied for second in C-USA in rebounding defense, third in rebounding margin and fifth in rebounding offense. Furthermore, the Blazers are tied for second in offensive rebounds per game, averaging 12.7 a contest.
Defensive Dominance
A calling card for this year's UAB squad has been its defensive prowess. The Blazers held Tulsa, one of C-USA's top offensive teams, to just 55 points when the two squads clashed on Jan. 26, which marked the 13th time this season UAB has held the opposition to under 60 points in a contest. In fact, in 23 contests on the year, UAB has now held 17 foes to 65 points or less. As a result, the Blazers are holding teams to 61.2 points a game, which ranks second in Conference USA. Additionally, the Blazers rank fifth in the league in three-point field goal percentage defense (.315) and are sixth in field goal percentage defense (.418).
UAB In The RPI
Following the 76-65 win at Rice last Saturday night, the Blazers' RPI fell to No. 29 in the country in the latest standings. Below is a breakdown of where UAB's RPI stands through games of Feb. 11.
Source RPI SOS
CollegeRPI.com 29 101
NCAA.com 29 NA
RealTimeRPI.com 30 101
Warren Nolan 30 101
CBSSportsline.com 31 94
Drake Knocks `Em Down
Senior guard George Drake scored 10 points in the loss at Memphis on Feb. 3, which marked the ninth time this season he has reached double figure scoring - a career best. Even more impressive was the fact that Drake knocked down all six of his free throws in the contest. With the six-made free throws, Drake has now made 16-straight free throws entering the game vs. Marshall. The Calera, Ala. native currently leads UAB and Conference USA in free throw percentage this season (.887).
Best Start In School History
The Blazers opened the season by winning 18 of their first 20 contests of the 2009-10 season, which set a school record. Below is a chart of the best starts in school history and where this year's team ranks on that list.
Season Start Final Record Postseason
2009-10 18-2 ??? ???
1993-94 16-2 22-8 NCAA
1985-86 16-2 25-11 NCAA
1991-92 14-2 20-9 NIT
1983-84 14-2 23-11 NCAA
Home Sweet Home
Bartow Arena has always been a tough place for opponents to come in, but that has been even more true over the past three seasons. Over that time, the Blazers have been nearly unbeatable, compiling a record of 38-3 (.927).
Furthermore, UAB ended the non-conference home slate in style with a 67-57 win over then-No. 16 Butler. As a result, the Blazers finished a perfect 7-0 against non-conference foes at home this season. Even more impressive is the fact that UAB stretched its home win streak against non-conference opponents to 31 consecutive games. The last time the Blazers dropped a non-league game on their home floor was on Nov. 29, 2005 when UAB fell to Western Kentucky, 92-76.
